Observation & Drollery

I had a great, almost charmed life as an IBM executive.  One of the things I don’t miss about the company though was the requirement at around this time of year to convey my “excitement at the challenges ahead” to the troops at the new year kick-off meeting.  For the English, a public display of…

In which after taking my Porsche 911 for a routine MOT (annual roadworthiness check) and service, I received a bill for £7600, or around $12,000 US. “I love my Aston”, I was wont to say, “but for sheer reliability and general go-down-to Tesco’s-in-it ease of driving give me the 911”.  I was wont to say…

In the dead reaches there is plenty of time to think.  And there have been plenty of dead reaches. This is what I have gleaned. Causes: There are many possible reasons why I have not been able to sleep over the years, but none of them are particularly predictable except in retrospect.  Too much stuff…

Musings on the occasional use of truth in politics. Nearly ten years ago, in the autumn of 2002, while I was flying from (I think) Chicago back to NYC, I had one of the most dramatic and disturbing conversations I ever experienced in the US. My practice over many years had been never to talk…

A few fun food facts for you today – to both inform and revolt. Despite my tall and generally stick-like appearance, I can stack on the weight – in fact at this height (6’4″), my weight has varied by 56 pounds (25kg, or the weight of a good sized springer spaniel). I maintain in fact…